USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the earliest historic times to 1907, Vol. I > Part 33
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"EDWARD D. SHARPLES.
Edward D. Sharples, dealer in cream separator supplies in Council Bluffs, was born in Westchester, Pennsylvania, on the 13th of March, 1861. His boy- hood and youth passed uneventfully, being largely devoted to the acquirement of an education in the common schools and to the enjoyment of the sports of the playground, which usually occupy the attention of the alert boy of the pres- ent day. He continued his studies to the age of eighteen and then started out upon his business career as an employe of the Sharples Company at Westches- ter, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of the Sharples Cream Separator. He re-
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mained with the house for about ten years; traveling throughout the United States, representing the business upon the road and making extensive sales.
In 1893 the Sharples Company opened a supply house in Council Bluffs and Edward D. Sharples then located in this city, continuing in active connec- tion with the business until about 1897. In 1901 he established a supply house, handling all brands of cream separators and in six months, beginning Jann- ary 1, 1907, his sales have amounted to forty-eight hundred separators. His business has thus had a rapid and substantial growth and Mr. Sharples is now well known as an enterprising merchant of the city, where he has made his home since 1893. He is thoroughly conversant with the merits of the different separators and supplies which he handles and is thus well qualified to introduce his goods to the market.
In 1891 occurred the marriage of Edward D. Sharples and Miss Ida M. Musser, the wedding being celebrated in Lincoln, Nebraska. They have an in- teresting little family of a daughter and son, Marguerite E. and Robert E. The parents hold membership in the Second Presbyterian church and are inter- ested in its work and upbuilding, also contributing generously to its support. In politics Mr. Sharples is independent, concerning himself more with his busi- ness affairs than with political interests. He is, however, an advocate of all plans and movements for the promotion of the city's growth and progress and to this extent gives his support to community affairs which promise substantial improvement along lines of reform and advancement.
JOHN MAASSEN, SR.
The opportunities which the state of Iowa offers to men of ambition and determination have been improved by John Maassen, Sr., as is indicated by the fact that he is today numbered among the well-to-do agriculturists and stock- raisers of Pottawattamie county, for his landed possessions aggregate nine hun- dred and twenty acres, all of which has been acquired through his own well directed labors. Mr. Maassen is a native of Holstein, Germany, born June 13, 1852, a son of John and Catherine (Sterling) Maassen, in whose family were six children, four of whom still survive, namely: Hans, a resident of Texas; John, of this review; Nicholas, a resident of Pleasant township, Potta- wattamie county; and Gustav, of Oklahoma. The parents were likewise na- tives of Holstein, where they spent their entire lives but both are now de- ceased.
John Maassen spent the period of his boyhood and youth under the pa- rental roof and in the fatherland learned the trade of a carpenter. Having heard favorable reports concerning the advantages to be enjoyed in the new world, at the age of twenty-one years he decided to sail for America, and the year 1873 therefore witnessed his arrival in the United States. He at once made his way to Moline, Illinois, and when he reached his destination he possessed but five dollars in money and was in debt to the extent of sixty-five dollars. Fortunately, however, he had knowledge of a good trade and accord-
MAASSEN
MRS JOHN MAASSEN
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
: AND
DA IUNS.
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ingly sought and secured employment in the Moline Plow Shops, being there employed during the winter seasons, while in the summer months he worked at his trade of carpentering. After some cighteen months spent in Moline, he decided to seck his fortune farther west and accordingly made his way to Avoca, Pottawattamie county, where he continued his work at the carpenter's trade for five or six years. During this period he carefully saved his earnings, which he loaned to his brother to invest in one hundred and twenty acres of land in Pleasant township, where Mrs. Maassen lived with her first husband until his death, after which our subject took up his abode thereon in the year 1881, when he began agricultural pursuits. After three years there spent he sought another location and purchased three hundred and ten acres of land on section 3, Valley township, cultivating that tract of land for several years, or until his removal to his present farm on section 4, Valley township. He is to-day in possession of nine hundred and twenty acres of valuable farm property, which classes him with the substantial citizens of this section of the state. His success is due in a large measure to stock-raising, in which he has been engaged quite extensively for a number of years, having as high as one hundred and fifty head of cattle at one time upon his place. For the past twelve years he has been engaged in breeding registered AAberdeen Angus cattle and ranks among the foremost cattle men of Pottawattamie county. He is also engaged in raising Duroc Jersey hogs on an extensive scale and his place is known as the Valley Stock Farm. It is conveniently located four and a half miles south of Avoea and he has made all of the excellent improve- ments found thereon.
The success to which Mr. and Mrs. Maassen have attained is indeed cred- itable, for it is due entirely to their own well directed efforts and honorable business methods. In earlier years they lived in accordance with their means, making their home for many years in a humble dwelling, twelve by fifteen feet square. Later, however, this structure was replaced by a more pretentious and modern home, while to-day they occupy an up-to-date country residence, which is supplied with all the equipments and accessories which add to the comfort of the inmates.
Mr. Maassen was married February 19, 1881, to the widow of his brother Jacob Maassen, who was murdered on the public highway by a neighbor, July 28, 1879. He had come to Iowa in the early '70s and after working by the month for several years, purchased cighty acres of land in Pleasant township, Pottawattamie county, for which he paid eight dollars per acre and which at that time was wild land. Later he bought a forty acre tract that had been broken and to the improvement and cultivation of his farm he devoted his energies throughout life. He was married July 5, 1876, to Miss Sophia Harder and to them were born two children, John Jacob and William H., both residents of Valley township. After her husband's death Mrs. Maas- sen became the wife of our subject as previously stated. She is a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Hepner) Harder, both of whom were natives of Mechlen- berg, Germany, whence they came to the United States in 1857, the family home being first established in Blue Island, Illinois, while three years later they took up their abode in La Salle county, that state, and in 1874 came to Pot-
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tawattamie county, Iowa, łoeating on a farm in Pleasant township, where they made their home until called to their final rest. By her second mar- riage Mrs. Maassen has become the mother of six children, namely : Anna, the wife of George Olsen, who is cultivating a tract of land belonging to her father; and Augusta, Julius, Ida. Amanda and Elma, all of whom are still under the parental roof. The children have been provided with good educa- tional advantages.
Mr. Maassen is a democrat in his political faith and has served as a member of the school board and also as township trustee for one term. For three years he has been a director of the Avoca Fair Association and is a most public-spirited citizen. Religiously he and his family are members of the Lutheran church. Possessing the sterling characteristics of the German race and endowed by nature with a strong constitution, he early developed all the attributes that make the successful man and is to-day numbered among the leading wealthy farmers and cattlemen of Pottawattamie county.
FRANK MERRITT BEYMER.
Frank Merritt Beymer, publisher and owner of the Journal-IIerald, at Avoca, was born at Afton, Iowa, December 1, 1864, his parents being George Washington and Bethia (Keating) Beymer. His great-grandfather in the pa- ternal line founded the town in Guernsey county, Ohio, which was called Bey- mertown but the name was afterward changed. The grandfather, Arthur St. Clair Beymer, lived for some years on a farm in Seneca county, Ohio, and in 1870 removed to Afton, where he died in 1872, at the age of seventy years.
His son, George W. Beymer, became a lumber dealer. He was married to Miss Bethia Keating, in Ohio, in 1855, and went to Wapello county, Iowa, in 1856. In 1858 he became a resident of Afton, this state, and followed the occu- pation of farming until late in the '60s. He served for two terms as county clerk and in 1868 turned his attention to the lumber business, in which he con- tinued up to the time of his death in February, 1880. His wife was descended from ancestors who at an early day lived near Rockland, Maine. The father of Mrs. Beymer was William Keating, who for over twelve years was a sailor but retired from the seas in 1837 and removed to Seneca county, Ohio. All of his children were born at South Thomaston, Maine, and in 1856 the family re- moved to Iowa. Frank M. Beymer has a twin sister living, Mrs. Mary Annette Chase, who resides at Hotchkiss, Colorado. Of the family three sisters still snr- vive, while one brother is yet living, and three have passed away. Charles B. Beymer died when two years old. Otto J. Beymer was killed in July, 1891, at the age of seventeen years, by a tree falling upon him. George W. Beymer died December 21, 1906, at the age of thirty-nine years. R. K. Beymer lives at Tacoma, Washington, at the age of forty-nine years. Of the sisters Mrs. Carrie B. Williams lives in Creston, Iowa, with a son, having lost her husband in 1882. while Mrs. Ruth B. Shull resides at Afton, Iowa.
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Frank M. Beymer was a pupil in the public schools of Afton and at the age of seventeen years came to Avoca to learn the printer's trade. He had lost his father when fifteen years of age and from the time of his removal to this town he has been dependent entirely upon his own labors and resources for ad- vancement. When he had acquainted himself with the trade he went to Ness county, Kansas, where he engaged in merchandising but in 1888 returned to Iowa. The following year he became a professional ball-player and pitched for an independent team at Missouri Valley. In 1891 he went to Deadwood, South Dakota, where he pitched ball for three seasons for an independent team and during the winter months worked at the case on the Deadwood Pioneer. In 1894 he returned to Iowa, where he played with the Des Moines Western League and also with independent teams.
After two years, however, in 1896, Mr. Beymer established the Avoca Jour- nal, and four years later he purchased the Avoca Herald, consolidating the two papers under the name of the Journal-IIerald. From the beginning he has prospered in this undertaking and now has one of the best equipped printing offices in this section of the state. He has installed a linotype machine of late pattern and has an office in which the most modern devices known to the print- ing trade are found. This is the only democratie paper in Pottawattamie county and it has had a constantly increasing circulation. Mr. Beymer is also a stockholder in the Pottawattamie County Fair Association of Avoca and in the Avoca Stock & Sale Pavillion Company. As a citizen, aside from his con- nection with journalism, he is deeply interested in the welfare and progress of his community and has done much to co-operate in those public measures which have for their object the welfare and progress of the community.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Beymer is a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fel- low, a Modern Woodman, a Maccabee and a Yeoman, and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit which constitutes the basis of all these organizations. He has always given stalwart allegiance to the democracy and has twice been elected and served as eity clerk of Avoca.
On the 23d of November, 1887, Mr. Beymer was married to Miss Allie E. Nash, who died August 20, 1898. Her parents, James and Sophrona (Brown) Nash, came to Avoca in 1870, from Springfield, Massachusetts. Mr. Nash be- longed to Company G, of the First New York Cavalry at the time of the Civil war, and served under General Custer, carrying dispatches and doing other im- portant military duty. He served for four years and was never wounded or captured, although often in the thickest of the fight. On account of poor health, which precluded the idea of any labor that would keep him indoors and also because he was a lover of good horses, he took up the occupation of training harness horses and was considered one of the best in this line of work. His company was the First Cavalry that was equipped in the northern states, being enlisted in New York city, and Mr. Nash furnished his own horse and equipment until the government purchased them. His wife died June 29, 1906.
On the 5th of August, 1903, Mr. Beymer was married a second time, this union being with Miss Mary Alice Dunlap, of Irwin, Iowa, who was born in Polk county, Iowa, near Des Moines, June 12, 1874, her parents being J. M.
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and Mary Jane (Doran ) Dunlap, the former a native of Newark, Ohio, and the latter of New Brunswick. Mr. and Mrs. Beymer have a little daughter, Alice Dunlap Beymer, born February 20, 1906. They are widely and favorably known in Avoca and the hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed by many friends. Mr. Beymer is classed with public-spirited citizens-men, who while neglecting not the duties devolving upon them in connection with private in- terests, yet find time and opportunity to labor for the publie good.
C. P. WASSER.
C. P. Wasser owns and cultivates a good farm property of one hundred and sixty acres on section 13, Pleasant township. He was born in Cook county, Illinois, on the 8th of March, 1866, his parents being Charles and Anna (Gable) Wasser, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came to the United States in 1853, when he was twenty-six years of age, his home be- ing established in Pennsylvania, and the mother came to the new world in 1851, also locating in the Keystone state. There the young people became ac- quainted and were eventually married, and the father, who was a shoemaker by trade, followed that pursuit for some time in order to provide for his family. In 1864 he removed to Cook county, Illinois, settling at Tinley Park, where he worked at his trade until 1873. In that year he removed to Iowa, settling at Avoca, where he engaged in shoemaking for three years, afterward spending four years in the same way in Shelby, Iowa. Carefully saving his earnings, he was in 1880 enabled to purchase a farm of cighty acres on section 13, Pleasant township, Pottawattamie county, and to this place he removed, afterward ex- tending its boundaries by an additional purchase of eighty acres until he had altogether one hundred and sixty acres of valuable and productive land. His time and energies were devoted to farming until 1893, when he retired and re- moved to AAvoca, where he died six years later. His wife passed away in 1904, and both were laid to rest in Avoca cemetery. In the family of this worthy couple were six children but only two are now living, the daughter Lizzie being the wife of Henry Nicolai, of Hancock, Iowa.
The son, C. P. Wasser, has always followed farming, being reared to that occupation. In the common schools he mastered the elementary branches of English learning and when not busy with his text-books his attention was given to the work of plowing, planting and harvesting. He was thus well qualified to carry on farming on his own account after he had reached man's estate. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Miss Mary Dietrick, whom he wedded on the 28th of February, 1892. She was born in Germany in 1874 and was a daughter of Carl and Mary Dietrick, both of whom were na- tives of Germany. Mrs. Wasser came to America with two cousins in 1890, when but fifteen years of age. She was one of four children and in 1893 the parents crossed the Atlantic to the new world, residing in America until 1906, when they returned to Germany with the intention of spending their remain- ing days in their native land. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wasser have been born three
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children, Carrie R., aged thirteen years; Lily, aged eleven years; and Herbert C., aged five years.
Mr. Wasser has always followed farming and now owns the old home- stead of one hundred and sixty acres on section 13, Pleasant township, the farm being well developed, returning large harvests in reward for the care and labor he bestows upon the fields. His political views are in harmony with the prin- ciples of the republican party and he has served as assessor of Pleasant township for four years, while at the present writing, in 1907, he is township clerk. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp, No. 125, at Avoca, and he and his wife are members of the German Lutheran church. Although his life has been quietly and uneventfully passed his usefulness is acknowledged in his home lo- cality and there is no better test of a man's real worth than the opinion in which he is held by those with whom he comes in contact daily.
JOIIN W. MORSE.
John W. Morse, who was engaged in the real-estate business in Council Bluffs for many years, came to this city in 1867 and resided here until his death and, judged by the consensus of public opinion, his life was exemplary, his ac- tions manly and sincere and his genuine worth above question. A native of Athol, Massachusetts, he was born October 26, 1834, his parents being Samuel and Ruth (Drury) Morse, both of whom were natives of the same state. In January, 1838, the father removed with his family to Chenango county, New York, where he followed farming for some years. He afterward became a resi- dent of Yorkshire, Cattaraugus county, New York, where he engaged in farm- ing and in the meat business for several years. On the expiration of that period he went to the oil fields of Pennsylvania, where he made investments, but while there he became ill and returned to Yorkshire, New York, where his last days were spent, his wife also dying in that place. They were the parents of nine children, of whom five are yet living as follows: Asa, whose home is in Gage- town, Michigan; George, who is residing in Warsaw, Wisconsin; Ellen, the widow of George Graham, a resident of Delavan, New York; Ira, residing in Connell, Washington; and Mrs. Mary Whitney, living in Worcester, Mas- sachusetts. Those deceased are John W., Leander, Eleanor and Daniel.
John W. Morse acquired his education in the common schools of the Em- pire state and at the age of fourteen years he started out in life on his own ac- count. From that time on he was dependent upon his own efforts and the suc- cess he achieved proved the force of his character and his strong determina- tion. Leaving home he went to Middlebury, Wyoming county, New York, where he began work as a farm hand, being employed on a number of different farms of that locality.
While living there, at the age of twenty-two years, Mr. Morse was married in 1857 to Miss Persis F. Miller, a daughter of Orlando Miller, who followed farming in Wyoming county throughout his entire life. In 1864 Mr. Morse removed from the Empire state to what was known as Pithole, Venango county,
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Pennsylvania, and there he engaged in speculating in oil for about two years. In March, 1866, he returned to Wyoming county, New York, where his family had remained, and with them started for the middle west, settling at Greenfield, Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming for a year. He then came to Council Bluffs, arriving on the 20th of March, 1867. His first business venture here was the conduct of a small restaurant on Broadway, where he remained for a few years and then opened a restaurant and bakery on Pearl street, where he carried on business with success for some time. In 1872 he was called by the vote of his fellow townsmen to public office, being elected city mar- shal, in which capacity he served for two years, and in 1878 he was elected justice of the peace, filling that position most acceptably for four years. On his retirement from the justice court in 1882 he turned his attention to the real- estate business and was thus occupied up to the time of his death.
In 1893 Mr. Morse was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who died in Council Bluffs, on the 25th of May, of that year. There were four chil- dren by that union: Charles S., who resides with Mrs. Carrie Morse, his step- mother. and who is traveling salesman for a cigar factory in Council Bluffs; Fred O., who married May Cushman and resides in Rochester, New York, where he is interested in mining; Bluff, who was killed while at play at school when eleven years of age : and Frank, deceased.
After losing his first wife Mr. Morse was married, October 3, 1894. to Mrs. Carrie M. Clark, a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, and a daughter of Alexander and Jeanette (Bell) Van Meyers, the latter a native of Ireland and the former of Canada, whence he removed to St. Lawrence county, New York, where he engaged in farming for several years. He then came to the middle west, settling in Floyd county. Iowa, where his remaining days were devoted to general agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Van Myers is now seventy-four years of age and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Henry Vickers, in Shenandoah, Iowa. Mrs. Morse was first married to Dr. Columbus J. Clark, who for many years engaged in the practice of medicine at Marble Rock, Iowa. He then removed to Council Bluffs but after a year returned to Marble Rock, where he continued in practice until his death.
When Mr. Morse engaged in the real-estate business in Council Bluffs, he formed a partnership with Nathan Phillips, a connection which was continued for several years, after which he was alone in business. He bought and sold both city and country property and negotiated a number of important realty transfers. Ile was an invalid for two years prior to his death, but still continued to transact business, so that his life was an active one up to the last. His death occurred March 19. 1907. after a residence in Council Bluffs of thirty years, during which time he had become well known as a business man and citizen, while in the social circles in which he moved he gained many warm and admir- ing friends. He was a staunch republican and took an active interest in poli- tics, but did not hesitate to vote for a candidate of another party if he thought the best interests of the community so demanded. He was particularly well known among the early residents of Council Bluffs and "a friend of every pio- neer of the city." His life was a very busy, useful and honorable one, and he lived in harmony with his profession as a member of the First Presbyterian
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church, of which Mrs. Morse is also a member. She still makes her home in Council Bluffs, having a nice residence at No. 300 South Seventeenthi street, where she is living with her son.
L. C. WARD.
L. C. Ward, of Knox township, Pottawattamie county, who makes a spe- cialty of the raising of poultry and hogs and is also engaged in the dairy busi- ness, is a native of Massachusetts, his birth having occurred in that state ou the 17th of April, 1845. He is a son of L. M. and Nancy S. S. (Hastings) Ward, also natives of Massachusetts, who came west in 1852, locating in Bureau county, Illinois, where they purchased land and lived until 1883. On the ex- piration of that period the father sold out and removed to Nebraska, where his demise occurred in 1901.
L. C. Ward is the only survivor of his mother's family of three children and remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority. In 1866 the lure of gold caused him to start on the overland journey to California but on account of the hostility of the Indians who infested the country at that time lie went no further than Kansas. He then purchased a drove of cattle, which he took through to Monticello, Illinois, where he sold them. After this business venture he returned to Bureau county, Illinois, and taught school for one year but in 1868 he again turned his face toward the setting sun and at length took up his abode in Madison county, Iowa, where he remained until 1871. He then removed to Clay county, Missouri, where he remained for a year, and at the end of that time once more returned to Burcan county, Illinois, working as a farm hand for twelve months. In 1873 he again made his way to Madison county, Iowa, where he rented a farm and lived until 1884, when he purchased a farm on section 14, Knox township, Pottawattamie county, Iowa, on which he has since made his home. He is engaged in the raising of poultry and hogs, of which he makes a specialty, and has also been in the dairy busi- ness for several years. He is capably conducting these various branches of his business and is meeting with a large measure of success in his undertakings by reason of his indomitable perseveranee and excellent management in the con duct of his business interests.
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